Spring Steel 1060 Line Katana
supplied by Dynasty Forge Inc., Canada
Review by Hans Fricke, December 2007
Finally, after 3 month in transit, the complementary 1060 Katana arrived just in time before we close for the holiday season.
The overall impression was good except for a small chip on the saya near the koiguchi and some imprints left near the kurikata by the sageo wrapped around the saya, damaging the lacquer somewhat.
Imprints left in the lacquer from the sageo
The tsuka felt just right by following the sori of the blade. The black cotton tsuka-ito was tightly and cleanly wrapped over white same and finished of with a simple black iron fuchi kashira. Holding the tsuka the long menuki felt surprisingly good and after some cutting had not come loose.
The blade had no scratches or imperfections, but showed some slight burring along the edge possibly due to the machine finish. This however, was easily fixed with 800 grit wet & dry paper, smoothing out the machine ripples along the blade and at the same time giving the blade a beautiful cutting edge that would cut 30 cm long paper strips with ease. The blade sits tight in the tsuka and is secured by two mekugi.
Without bo-hi the blade's weight at 1200 grams felt fine with me, but could be a problem in untrained hands. Also, the balance point could have been closer to the tsuka to give it a somewhat weightier swing.
Test-cutting was performed on full seasoned [hard] tatami-omote and all cuts past with flying colours. A follow-up paper cutting-test showed no reduced sharpness.
Crisp clean cuts with no frayed edges or dislodged fibres.
The Dynasty Forge 1060 Katana is a good looking katana, but the skimpy tsuba spoils its looks somewhat.
The blade fits well into the saya, often a problem with lower end models. The tsuka and blade are now better matched, thus giving the 1060 Katana a more authentic look.
Bamboo Test-Cutting,
March 2008
When test- cutting some hard green bamboo the 1060 did extremely well and showed no scratches or markings along the cutting-edge.
© 2009 - SSJS, Sei Do Kan Dojo All rights reserved.
Conclusion:
Functionality
10
out of
10
Practicality
9
out of
10
Quality
8
out of
10
Looks
8
out of
10
Feel and handling
7
out of
10
Safety & tsuka fit
10
out of
10
Highly recommended for beginners and advanced tameshigiri practitioners.
